She Breathes Gales

By Elizabeth Brown

She wanders for a living

Donating play dates to the ocean 

Dilly dallying with the waves

Chasing after those meandered seashells



But she can tear apart cities 

Bustle through towns 

Seize buildings from their soil

And shatter glass ceilings



She purses her lips together to stir 

Whistling a warning 

To remind you through her gentle whisper 

That she has the capacity to wreck your home 



and do so noisily 



She dances with Autumn’s leaves

Tripping over fallen branches

Splashing in puddles 



She breathes 



And she will devastate you just the same

And she will be there when this all blows over 

Carrying feathers and snowflakes to the seance 

Watching you all forget what once was

Elizabeth Brown is a creative writing student at the University of Birmingham. She writes what she knows and what she wishes to feel. (And what she wishes she never felt) Elizabeth is intrigued. Her poetry has been recognised by lecturers as ‘submitted’ and ‘formatted correctly’.